GROOMING YOUR SHOW LOWCHEN

The first comment I will make about preparing your Lowchen is - put down the scissors. A Lowchen should never seem to be trimmed or sculptured. Yes there are times when we have to shorten their coat, but this should be done in such a way as to look natural.

Consistency and cleanliness will give you a lovely coat, if the dog has good genes for coat type to start with. You cannot change what is there gentically, you can only make the most of what you have.

We use good quaity dog shampoos and conditioners to prepare for shows, and trial and error will help you find the one that is right for you.

For maintenance bathing between shows, we use good quality human products.

Also when at home, as you can see from the picture above we keep the long hair on the head tied back. Some people wrap the face fringings, but we do not do that.

Lowchen are a clipped breed in the traditional lion clip. This means their front legs are clipped from the knuckle up to the elbow, their feet are clipped to the toes and their rump is clipped usually to the last rib with part of the tail clipped. Usually the tail is clipped by about one third leaving a plume on the end. The rear legs are clipped down to the hock area. At the hock there is a vein that runs up the back of the leg, use this as a guideline to enhance the dogs angulation.

You may change the actual lines to enhance angulation, or to give a shorter or longer appearance to the dog, but the overall clip is quite simple.

You are left with a dog that has full coverage on its head, chest and brisket, bracelets on their legs and a plume on their tail.

Your breeder should be able to help with how they themselves prefer to see their stock clipped, but overall you will see it is fairly consistent between each person.

We use blades of varying length dependant on the colour of the Lowchen and how we want them to look when finished. But generally I use a #30 or #40 blade and a toe blade for the feet. I usually clip and bathe the dog the evening before a show.

We groom with a good Greyound comb and a good Pin Brush. Always ensure you groom the coat completely to the skin to ensure there are no tangles that may end up in matts or knots.

Your Lowchen needs to be groomed thoroughly at least twice a week, and if you have used any grooming product at a show, such as a lacquer spray, bathe them again at home to remove the residue.

GROOMING YOUR PET LOWCHEN

Lowchen have a fine silky coat with little undercoat. Their hair does not shed all over you or your carpet, with minimum hair loss. This means that even if you keep your Lowchen as a pet, it will need regular grooming and bathing.

For pets at home we recommend a good quality deep cleansing shampoo and conditioner. This should be worked gently through the coat and rinsed out completely, then the dog should be brushed while the hair is drying, either naturally or with a blow dryer. Ensure there are no tangles or knots.

Pets are often kept in a shorter clip with the hair about 1" - 2" long all over and if you send your dog to a grooming parlour they will present them to you this way.

If kept short like this, your Lowchen will need to be clipped about every 10 - 12 weeks. Your groomer will also look after their toe nails and their ears , removing any unwanted long hair from inside the ear, preventing infection.